Work in progress — cycles are added one at a time. Every quote is machine-verified against an archived source; follow the links to read it.
| Score | Cycle | Candidate | Issue | Position |
|---|
| 0.67 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Level of federal spending | Cut the cost of the federal government by at least 25 percent |
| 0.63 | 1932 | Norman Thomas | Federal responsibility for relief | A $5 billion federal appropriation for immediate relief of those in need |
| 0.62 | 1936 | Alf Landon | Reorganization of the executive branch | Cooperate with Congress to reorganize agencies, abolish unnecessary ones and eliminate duplication |
| 0.62 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Balancing the federal budget | Balance the federal budget annually within revenues |
| 0.61 | 1932 | Herbert Hoover | Balancing the federal budget | A balanced budget as 'the foundation of all public and private financial stability' |
| 0.59 | 1932 | Herbert Hoover | Public works as employment policy | Federal construction at three times normal and $1.5 billion of RFC loans for self-liquidating works — but no pork-barrel or non-productive projects |
| 0.59 | 1932 | Herbert Hoover | Regulation of banks and securities | The RFC and the 'shield of Government credit' saved 5,000 institutions and must continue — but no direct government lending to everyone |
| 0.58 | 1936 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Balancing the federal budget | Balance the budget within a year or two out of rising national income, without new taxes |
| 0.58 | 1936 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Level of federal spending | Reduce the expenses of government as relief needs decline |
| 0.54 | 1936 | Frank Knox | Overall role and scale of the federal government | Fair, honest, economical and efficient government; preserve free enterprise against 'amateur economic planners' |
| 0.54 | 1932 | John Nance Garner | Public works as employment policy | The Garner-Rainey $1.2 billion public-works bill — and a pledge to reintroduce it |
| 0.53 | 1936 | Alf Landon | Balancing the federal budget | Balance the budget by cutting expenditures, not by raising taxes |
| 0.53 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Reorganization of the executive branch | Consolidate the seven federal farm-mortgage agencies under a single purpose |
| 0.53 | 1932 | Herbert Hoover | Public ownership of electric power | Federal regulation of interstate power; opposition to government operation of the power business |
| 0.52 | 1932 | Herbert Hoover | Tariff levels | Preserve the bipartisan Tariff Commission's flexible power to adjust rates without congressional log-rolling |
| 0.52 | 1936 | Alf Landon | How to finance old-age and unemployment insurance (contributory reserve vs. pay-as-you-go) | Repeal the compulsory old-age insurance plan; pay every needy citizen over 65 a pension from a direct, widely distributed tax |
| 0.52 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Tariff levels | A "competitive" tariff set through a scientific Tariff Commission, with anti-log-rolling rules and a public counsel |
| 0.52 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Public employment offices | A federally coordinated system of state employment offices (the vetoed Wagner bill) |
| 0.52 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Regulation of utility rates and holding companies | Eight-point federal utility program: publicity, Federal Power Commission control of holding companies, prudent-investment rate base |
| 0.52 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Campaign finance and lobbying | Continuous publicity of political contributions; stronger Corrupt Practices Act; curb paid lobbies |
| 0.52 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Public works as employment policy | Public works spending is only a stopgap, not a cure for unemployment |
| 0.51 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Overall role and scale of the federal government | Government as a check on concentrated economic power — "individualism" redefined as equality of opportunity |
| 0.51 | 1932 | Herbert Hoover | Regulation of banks and securities | Reform the banking laws; stop credit flowing to speculation; relieve depositors of closed banks |
| 0.51 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Level of military spending | An adequate Army and Navy without a near-billion-dollar peacetime burden |
| 0.50 | 1932 | Herbert Hoover | Federal responsibility for relief | Relief through voluntary mobilization and local responsibility, with RFC loans to exhausted states — no federal dole |